


you hold your best friend as tight as you can, and push away the unimaginable

by TheDarkChocolateLord



Series: Lumenaria [5]
Category: Keeper of the Lost Cities Series - Shannon Messenger
Genre: Angst, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Lumenaria, No beta we die like Kenric, yes I have a Lumenaria obsession but it's the perfect setting for hurt/comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 22:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29907777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkChocolateLord/pseuds/TheDarkChocolateLord
Summary: What if Biana had found Sophie in Lumenaria instead of Keefe?
Relationships: Biana Vacker & Councillor Oralie, Keefe Sencen & Biana Vacker, Sophie Foster & Biana Vacker
Series: Lumenaria [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2199858
Comments: 6
Kudos: 7





	you hold your best friend as tight as you can, and push away the unimaginable

It was an accident that she found out. 

Biana had been heading into the kitchen for a snack when she heard her parents talking to someone on an Imparter. She was ready to shrug it off as boring nobility stuff, but hearing Councillor Emery's voice— _ wasn't he at the Peace Summit? _ —made her reconsider that thought.

Maybe it was just that the Peace Summit was over; as Emissaries with the highest level of clearance, her parents were to be notified when the Peace Summit had ended and their regular work for the Council would resume. Still, she paused at the corner of the landing, turning invisible as she leant across the railing and strained to hear.

_ Island is on lockdown….goblins dead….castle collapsed…escaped Neverseen members....mostly accounted for, yet Ms. Ruewen, Mr. Forkle, Councillor Oralie, and Miss Foster are still missing…. _

Sophie. 

Sophie was missing.

Missing and the castle had collapsed and the Neverseen members had escaped; missing and possibly  _ dead. _

It didn't matter that the island was on lockdown, it didn't matter that it was dangerous, it didn't matter that the Neverseen might still be there;  _ she had to find her friend. _

Biana raced for her mom's office; Lumenaria wasn't on any Leapmasters, but both of her parents had a plethora of restricted-access leaping crystals, and her mom was both far more relaxed about keeping her office locked and far less likely to get angry if she found out. Biana was tempted to tell her family where she was going, but her dad would protest because the island was on lockdown, her mom would forbid her from going to keep her safe, and even Fitz was likely to hesitate. She had to do this on her own. 

She burst through the door, rifling through the leaping crystals until she found the one she was looking for. Snatching a pencil and paper off of the desk, she scribbled  _ At Lumenaria, I'll be careful, back soon. Please don't ground me until my ears turn pointy. Love, Biana.  _

She tucked the note into the drawer with the leaping crystals, then found a handful of basic first-aid supplies that she shoved into the pockets of her tunic. One last glance around the room—it looked exactly like she'd found it—and before she could hesitate, she took out the leaping crystal and threw herself into the light.

***

It was even worse than she had imagined.

The castle had been reduced to fragments of stone and dust, twisted balconies and demolished walls and collapsed pillars turning the once-immaculate beach into a disaster zone. It was impossible to see anyone or anything, the white stone and blue sky and blazing sun blindingly bright, the crashing ocean waves making it near-impossible to hear what was going on.

Biana headed for the beach, determined to not go near the precarious ruins unless absolutely necessary. She checked every cave, every spot of sand, yet  _ nothing, nothing, nothing— _ wait.

Off in the distance, someone was shouting.

" _ Foster! _ " 

_ Keefe. _

She raced for the sound.

As she got closer to the blond figure, she recognized her friend—ex-friend?—she didn't really know what to call him besides  _ idiot who had raced off to join the Neverseen without any notice. _ His hair was longer, his clothing dustier, but it was unmistakably Keefe, though he seemed oblivious to her arrival; Biana had stayed invisible out of caution, and her footsteps were drowned out by his shouting and the waves.

All Emery had said was that the Neverseen members had escaped,  _ not  _ that they had left the island—Keefe could very well be a part of their plan. She would have ruled that out due to the utter desperation in his voice, but for all she knew his shouting could be some kind of diversion—did she even know her friend anymore?

If he noticed her, if he was on  _ their _ side, if he was a scout or a lookout or a distraction….

Biana leapt for him. One well-practiced bramble move and Keefe crashed into the sand. She struggled to keep him pinned; the effort caused her to lose her vanish and blink back into view.

"OW!" Keefe tried to twist his shoulders out of the way. She shoved them further back into the sand. "Biana!" 

"How could you disappear without a trace,  _ join the Neverseen _ , and leave everyone wondering what they did wrong and why you betrayed them? You almost shattered Fitz—probably Sophie, too—and then you just show up here without a care in the world? How do I know that you're not still with  _ them _ ?" The words that had been building up inside of her for weeks rushed out in a torrent of anger and rage, crashing down faster and harder than the waves striking the beach. "Do you realize what you did when you left us?  _ Do you even care _ ?"

" _ Biana _ !" Keefe gasped; she shifted her weight a little, trying to make it easier for him to breathe. Not much easier, though. "I swear, I'm really sorry, and  _ I'm back. _ I'm not on their side anymore, I promise."

"How do I know that you're telling the truth?" Biana demanded.

"Check my heartbeat, if it skips three you'll know that I'm lying. I'm not with the Neverseen, I promise. I'm back for good now, I have Kenric's cache and Fintan's, and I'm so sorry." His heartbeat stayed constant, as fast and furious as Biana's own. "I'm trying to find Sophie. I've been searching all over and I can't find her and nobody knows where she is!"

" _ Nobody _ ? Where have you looked?"

"Let me breathe and then I'll tell you," Keefe choked out. "I  _ promise  _ I'm not part of the Neverseen anymore—I need to find Sophie!"

The despair in his tone matched Biana's own, and it was enough to convince her that she could lighten up. This time. 

She climbed off of him; the two of them leaned against a slope of rock. "Okay. Where have you searched?"

"Outer ruins, mostly, and some of the beach—aside from some of the stuff the way you were heading. The castle's too unstable to risk it without knowing for sure. I  _ hope  _ she's not in there." Keefe's ice-blue eyes were wide with fear. "Do you know if anyone else is missing? I've seen some world leaders and a few goblins and gnomes, but it's all a blur. Physicians, too—most of the stuff is fixable, like broken bones, but Councillor Terik might lose his leg—there was a lot of blood and…." Keefe trailed off. "I also saw all four Neverseen members crossing the beach and escaping, so they aren't on the island anymore."

Biana took a slow, stuttering breath, feeling her shoulders relax at that last piece of news. "Okay."

"Do you know anything about what's going on?" Keefe wondered. "How did you find out about this, anyway?"

"I heard my parents talking to Emery," Biana explained. "Four people are missing…." 

" _ Who _ ?"

Silence.

Desperation filled Keefe's expression. "Biana—"

"Oh, is it not fun when someone hides information you desperately need from you?"

"I'm sorry," Keefe pleaded. "Aside from Sophie…. _ please  _ tell me it isn't Edaline—or Mr. Forkle."

"Both of them and Oralie," Biana mumbled.

Keefe kicked the ground, sending up a shower of sand and rock. "We need to find them."

Biana glanced around—nobody had seen them yet, but it didn't mean that it would stay that way for long. Not to mention that she  _ still  _ didn't know if she could trust Keefe,  _ still  _ wanted to make sure that this wasn't yet another trick or trap. "I'll search, you should leave before someone sees you." She offered him her home crystal.

Keefe batted it aside. "I can find Sophie—you should go! The island's on lockdown—"

" _ Exactly.  _ The island's on lockdown, if you're found here the Council's going to throw five billion questions at you, and they'll probably find out that you were with the Neverseen. I can turn invisible—I probably won't get found here, and you look exhausted." 

"I'm not—" Keefe yawned. "Okay, I'm tired, but this is  _ important. _ "

"You're not doing anyone any favors if you fall asleep on the beach," Biana reminded him.

"So we both search! Why do you feel like you have to do this alone?"

"One, I'm  _ still  _ not sure if this is part of some greater Neverseen plan, two, Fitz deserves to see you, and three, if you're found here you'll probably be in trouble."

Keefe didn't respond, which was surprising; Biana had been expecting him to argue with her. When she looked at him more closely, she realized that he was asleep. 

"Keefe," she tried. 

He didn't stir.

"Keefe!"

"Huh?" He rubbed his eyes.

"You  _ fell asleep.  _ Were you up all night worrying about Sophie?"

"Yeah. Plus, caves aren't very comfortable….but I  _ can  _ help search!"

"You're not being very convincing." Biana stood up and angled her home crystal towards the sun, creating a path of light. 

"Fine," Keefe sighed. "Just...stay safe."

He left before she could reply. 

Biana continued to search the beach on her own, but each stretch of sand remained empty, each cave revealed nothing but dust. Her mind felt like it was a million places at once— _ Keefe's back, Sophie might be dead, nobody's heard from Edaline— _ and even as she tried to focus on her search, she couldn't stop twisting her fingers, couldn't stop worrying that it wasn't going to be okay.

She was almost ready to give up when she saw a flash of blond hair and black clothing.

_ Sophie. _

She raced down the beach.

Sophie was sleeping next to Edaline, tiny against the expanse of sand and almost as pale. As she got closer, Biana's stomach twisted when she saw her friend's injuries—Sophie was bruised and bloodied, but breathing.

_ Alive. _

"You're okay," Biana gasped, and Sophie blinked awake at the sound, pulling herself into a seated position. "Nobody had heard from you or Edaline and—" She threw her arms around her friend.

Sophie leant into the hug. "How'd you get here?" 

"Vanisher, remember? I actually found Keefe first, and he was all fired up about finding you, but he was so exhausted he fell asleep during our conversation, so I convinced him to leap back to Everglen." Biana eyed a nasty cut across Sophie's temple. "Is your head okay?" 

Sophie winced. "It'll be fine."

Given her friend's track record for almost dying, Biana knew better than to believe her. "I brought first aid stuff." Biana passed Sophie her supplies. "Is Edaline okay?"

Sophie glanced at her mother. "We should let her sleep. Is anyone hurt?" 

Biana shifted her gaze, focusing on her lumenite-and-sand-coated hands with their chipped nail polish. It was easier than looking Sophie in the eye as she explained. "Councillor Terik might lose his leg, but he's going to live. Aside from that, all the injuries are pretty minor—broken bones, scrapes, nothing Elwin and Livvy can't fix. Some of the goblins didn't make it out, though..."

Sophie's expression flickered from shock to relief to determination in a matter of seconds. "Have you seen Mr. Forkle?"

Biana hesitated.

" _ Have  _ you?"

"No–and Keefe and I have checked most of the beach, but it's possible that we just haven't found him yet, or that he left without telling anyone because that  _ would  _ be like him, or that—" Even as the reassurances left her mouth, Biana knew how little weight they held, useless as the scraps of lumenite that littered the sands.

"Or that he's  _ dead _ ." Sophie tugged out one of her eyelashes. "Is anyone else missing?"

"Oralie." Biana placed a hand on Sophie's arm as she dropped the bandage she was holding and tried to stand. 

"We have to find them!"

"Finish with the medicine,  _ then  _ we'll go charging around the island to save the world."

"Fine." Sophie rubbed a layer of ointment down a cut on her arm. "I'm going to track their thoughts." 

She closed her eyes and leant on Biana. Biana eyed the crumbling castle; in this wind, she wasn't sure if it was going to collapse completely or not, and if someone was trapped inside, injured or dying….

_ Please let them be on the beach. Please let them be safe.  _

"They're in the ruins." 

Biana jolted upright at the words. "Can you enhance me? I  _ think  _ that I can vanish both of us if you do, and then we'll be able to sneak in unseen."

Sophie nodded and offered Biana a hand, and it was only then that Biana noticed that Sophie wasn't wearing her gloves.

"I took them off to help Edaline," Sophie explained. "So she could conjure away the rubble, it was coming down everywhere—" She broke off. "Let's just do this before it comes down even more."

Biana nodded, grateful for Sophie's determination as they snuck their way across the beach. Sophie led the way; Biana focused on keeping the two of them invisible as they wove their way around and between and over far-flung chunks of stone. They were moving too slowly—they might be too late—yet it was all they could do to make their way through the debris undamaged.

"This way," Sophie whispered, and they worked their way through the remains of an archway. Now that they were inside the castle, Biana dropped the vanish; it was a relief to see her body again.

They rambled through passageways and across wide halls, Sophie mumbling directions as they went. Any other time, Biana would have been thrilled at the chance to see the famous castle up close, but the finery was nothing but tangles of precious stones and metals, the once-impressive architecture reduced to jarring crumbles of rock. Not to mention the choking worry and fear, as thick and ominous as the heavy dust in the air, racing winds and shaking walls turning even calm thoughts into a storm of anxiety.

They made their way up the edges of a staircase that had collapsed in the center. Cautiously, Biana put her foot on the second step; it gave way and she shrieked as she lurched forward. She managed to stay balanced, gathering the mental energy to levitate up the stairs instead. 

The staircase clattered beneath her as she kicked off from the ground, looking  _ almost  _ like it was going to collapse—yet it held. Barely. Just as she reached the top and touched down on the stone floor, a voice called "Is someone there?"

"Oralie!" Sophie shouted. 

The two of them raced for the sound.

The room they entered looked like it had been hit by an earthquake: what must have once been furniture and decorations was now smithereens of wood or gem or metal. The air was dusty and grainy, and it smelled like spoiling food and crumbling stones and….

_ Blood. _

"What happened?" Biana yelled, eyes skittering across the room. "Is anyone hurt?" 

Her gaze landed on the clearest corner of the room, where Oralie was leaning over something bloody.

Some _ one _ bloody.

Mr. Forkle was soaked in blood, so much blood, streaming from his face and arms and forehead and  _ chest _ . Bile rose in Biana's throat at the sight of it, yet she didn't— _ couldn't _ —look away, following Sophie as she raced to Mr. Forkle's side.

"You kids really shouldn't have come," Mr. Forkle wheezed. 

"We have to get you to Elwin," Sophie declared.

"There's no time, and no fix for what happened to me. I've had this conversation with Oralie—you two  _ have  _ to let me go." He gasped for breath; it turned into a cough, a splutter of red. "This is my swan song."

"No," Biana retorted, yanking a tablecloth out from under a collapse of stone. "We can use this to keep pressure on it until a physician gets here, I've got….." Yet she didn't reach for her pocket. Deep down, she knew that her pitiful first-aid supplies were far from what was needed to heal the wound. Against her common sense, morbid curiosity made her take a closer look: it seemed deep yet defined, as if….

"You look like you were  _ stabbed _ ."

"I should have known," Mr. Forkle mumbled. Vague as always, even when dying. Biana didn't know whether she wanted to laugh or cry.

"Gethen's sword?" Sophie gasped, eyes wide in shock and recognition.

"He and Brant tried make good on his threat," Mr. Forkle explained.

"To kill you?" Biana guessed. Somehow, that didn't seem right—Mr. Forkle had said  _ tried.  _ Tried, not succeeded.

"To kill me." Oralie's voice shook as much as her hands as she layered another tablecloth over the existing bloody fabric covering the wound. "If Mr. Forkle hadn't shown up when he had, I'd be dead." 

"I used a mind trick to stop Gethen—the same one that I used to make him back down that day at your human home when he showed up with the dog," Mr. Forkle explained with a glance at Sophie. "Brant tried next, but I shoved him away right as a chunk of ceiling fell." 

"You took out Brant?" Sophie gasped.

It was then that Biana noticed a cloth-covered lump across the room. Body-size.

"I did. Brant's skull was crushed completely. Then Gethen….did  _ this  _ in retaliation." 

The scene was sickeningly clear in Biana's mind. The fabled 'sword in the stone' in the cells in Lumenaria. The collapsing castle, Brant struck down by rubble. Gethen stabbing Mr. Forkle with the sword.

"Is Gethen still alive?" Biana managed. 

"He fled after wrapping Brant's body—the castle was growing increasingly unstable." As Mr. Forkle spoke, a second gust of wind racked the castle; across the room, a chunk of balcony came crashing down. 

"I'm almost out of time," Mr. Forkle wheezed. "I need the three of you to promise me something—don't let anyone discover my body. Don't spread the word that I died, don't do a planting in the Wanderling Woods. Nobody can know but the Black Swan. You'll understand in time." He passed a tiny orb to Sophie. "Give this to Granite. And—" He turned to Oralie. "Make me a seed. Give it to Miss Foster—when the time is right, she'll know where to plant it."

"No," Sophie declared. "You're not dying!"

"I am, and I've made my peace with it. I've done far more with my lives than I could have ever imagined. I've won more times than I lost. I can be happy with that. Trust me." He turned to Biana. 

"I want you to know that you are so much more than your family's legacy, or who your brothers and parents are, or the image you are expected to live up to. You are your own person with your own life to live, and you will do great things. Never lose sight of that."

She clung to his words like a raft, the only thing stopping her from drowning in a sea of grief. 

"Don't let the guilt shatter you, any of you." He focused on Oralie. "Take care of my moonlark."

"Just hold on," Sophie pleaded. "Hold on!"

"You'll do amazing things, Sophie. I just wish I could be there to see them. Dream. Fight. Love. Take risks. Allow yourself to be happy."

And with that, his last breath shattered through the air.

With that, his chest fell.

With that, Mr. Forkle was gone. 

Biana had known it, known that he was going to die from the moment she entered that room. But that didn't make the reality any better, her tears any quieter, her mind any less full of questions she'd wished she had the courage to ask, things she had always wanted to say.

"No," Sophie sobbed, fresh tears streaking down her face as she collapsed, blond hair pooling across Biana's shoulder. Biana let Sophie lean on her, wrapping her arms around her friend as Sophie cried and cried and cried.

Biana wasn't Keefe, with his uncanny ability to make everyone around him light up, or Fitz, with his ever-calm presence and telepathic conversations, or Dex, who'd been Sophie's friend longer than anyone, or Linh, who almost always knew the right thing to say, or Tam, who had helped Sophie through Exillium with his shadow-whispers of advice. She wasn't any of them. Couldn't comfort Sophie like any of them could. Didn't know what to say or do.

But she was her own person, and she could try.

"We'll get out of this alive, I promise," she assured Sophie, trying to stop her own voice from shaking.

Sophie didn't respond, but she sank into the embrace. They were so close that Biana could feel Sophie's heartbeat almost as well as her own— _ still alive, still alive, still alive. _

They stayed there. Silent, yet not at peace. Together, yet Sophie's mentor had just been taken from them before their very eyes. 

It seemed like hours later, though it was probably minutes, when Oralie approached them. "Are you two okay? Do you know anything about what happened to the others?"

She looked less like a Councillor than Biana had ever seen her, blond hair a tangle of lumenite and frizz, tears smearing dust and cuts and makeup alike, eyes red and puffy, forearms a map of bruises and scrapes. It made Biana remember the first-aid supplies in her pocket. "Here."

"Thank you." Oralie started working on a nasty-looking scrape on her shoulder. "Are you two okay?"

"Sort of," Biana managed. It was the most she could say. "As for everyone else….Councillor Terik's going to lose part of his leg and some of the goblins didn't make it out, but aside from that everyone's alive."

Tears trickled down Oralie's face; Biana didn't know if they were sorrow for what had happened or relief that it hadn't been worse. Maybe both.

"Sophie?" Oralie tried. 

There was no reply.

"Should we try to get out of here?" Biana wondered at last. "Do you...do you think this place will hold?"

Oralie scanned the room. "I'm not sure. Is there a relatively safe way out?"

Biana sighed. "It was unstable when we went in, it's only going to be worse, and I'm not really sure I remember how we got here….but if we don't find our way back soon everyone's going to be freaking out."

" _ Edaline _ ." 

Sophie's voice was broken, shaking, yet Biana had never been so glad to hear it.

"I need to find my mom. Let's go, I think I know the way."

Neither of them argued with her; they made their way out of the castle, Sophie again in the lead. Stumbling over stones and down staircases, slowly, carefully, wanting to escape as fast as possible yet not wanting the castle to collapse while they were still inside.

Miraculously, they made it out, and Sophie's telepathy charted a direct path to a lone figure in a pale-blue dress, her anxious expression visible from meters away.

" _ Mom! _ "

"Sophie!"

Edaline and Sophie raced for each other, colliding in a chaos of love and hugs and  _ don't you ever dare run off like that again. _

Biana collapsed onto the sands, staring out at the ocean; this close to the water, it was still pristine, endless turquoise ocean and white sand and blue sky. Too perfect for the Neverseen members to escape, too perfect for the castle to collapse, to perfect for Mr. Forkle to  _ die. _

If only she had thought to bring a physician. If only she had found Mr. Forkle sooner. If only she had brought Keefe as well; they might have been able to save him, and now…

"It wasn't your fault."

Biana turned to her left to see Oralie next to her, looking just as exhausted as she felt.

"I wish I'd been able to save him," Biana mumbled. 

"So do I." Oralie's gaze turned distant, staring out at the waves, and it made Biana wonder if she was thinking about Kenric as well. "He was right….about not letting guilt overcome you." She turned to Biana. " _ Nobody  _ is blaming you for this. Not me, not Sophie, not Mr. Forkle, not anyone. And coming here today...you didn't have to, but you did, and that was incredibly brave."

Biana stayed silent, letting the words sink into her, trying and trying to believe them until they felt real.

"I wish I'd known him better," she finally managed. "Asked more questions, or talked to him more, or  _ something. _ He was really important to Sophie, but...I didn't really know him. And now I never will."

Mr. Forkle had always been the leader of the Black Swan, someone who helped Sophie and Fitz with telepathy, someone who left them notes and clues, someone who always cared and was always  _ there.  _ She couldn't imagine the Black Swan without him, couldn't imagine Foxfire without Magnate Leto.

She'd have to, though. 

"I'm so sorry," Oralie murmured.

"It's not your fault," Biana assured her. 

"I'm not blameless." Oralie looked Biana in the eye. "If you find out anything about the Black Swan's contingency plan, or his funeral, or anything, please tell me, if you feel comfortable doing so. Let me know if I can help."

"I will." 

Later, Biana remember that promise the two of them had made; later, there would be explanations and tears and shock and a funeral; later, she would put on a green tunic only to find that the person she mourned for was only half gone. For now, though, she was alive, and so was almost everyone else from that castle; they had stayed alive, and that would have to be enough.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
